Importance: Erythromelalgia is a clinical diagnosis based on intermittent warmth, erythema, and pain in the distal extremities. One problem facing physicians is how to objectively test for this disease. Given that other painful conditions of the distal extremities (ie, neuropathy related to human immunodeficiency virus, diabetes, or Fabry disease) can be evaluated with a skin biopsy to visualize pathologically decreased densities of the small nerve fibers that innervate the epidermis, one hypothesis is that erythromelalgia could similarly be associated with a loss of epidermal nerve fiber density (ENFD)...

OBJECTIVE: Past literature presents contrasting perspectives regarding the potential influence of self-blame on adjustment to illness. This systematic literature review aimed to summarize findings from all investigations to date that have explored the relationship between self-blame for the onset of a chronic physical health condition and emotional distress. METHOD: Between November 2014 and February 2015, electronic databases were searched for relevant literature...

Objective: to investigate elderly living with HIV/Aids and health professionals, what are the reasons that lead to late diagnosis of HIV infection in the elderly. Method: prospective, qualitative study, conducted at a specialized outpatient clinic with elderly living with HIV/Aids, diagnosed age over 60 years and in the Family Health Strategy units with nurses and physicians. Data were collected through interviews and verified by content analysis, using the theoretical framework of vulnerability...

BACKGROUND: Challenges to ensuring timely linkage to and retention in HIV care are well documented. Combination intervention strategies can be effective in improving the HIV care continuum. Data on feasibility and acceptability of intervention types within intervention packages are limited. METHODS: The Engage4Health study assessed the effectiveness of a combination intervention strategy to increase linkage and retention among adults newly diagnosed with HIV in Mozambique...

BACKGROUND: Early in the global response to HIV, health communication was focused toward HIV prevention. More recently, the role of health communication along the entire HIV care continuum has been highlighted. We sought to describe how a strategy of interpersonal communication allows for precision health communication to influence behavior regarding care engagement. METHODS: We analyzed 1 to 5 transcripts from clients participating in longitudinal counseling sessions from a communication strategy arm of a randomized trial to accelerate entry into care in South Africa...

BACKGROUND: A liver stiffness (LS) < 21 kPa has a high negative predictive value (NPV) to exclude the presence of esophageal varices (EV) at risk of bleeding in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients. Consequently, upper gastrointestinal endoscopy (UGE) for the screening of EV could be avoided in these patients. However, this strategy has not been widely accepted due to concerns about its safety. OBJECTIVE: To assess the ability of LS to predict the risk of portal hypertensive gastrointestinal bleeding (PHGB) in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients with compensated cirrhosis...

Cell-free mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is a highly immunogenic molecule that is associated with several inflammatory conditions and with neurocognitive impairment during untreated HIV infection. Here, we investigate how cell-free mtDNA in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is associated with inflammation, neuronal damage, and neurocognitive functioning in the context of long-term suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART). We quantified the levels of cell-free mtDNA in the CSF from 41 HIV-infected individuals with completely suppressed HIV RNA levels in blood plasma (<50 copies/mL) by droplet digital PCR...

Cryptococcal meningitis is a serious infection occurring mainly in immunodepressed patients, especially those with AIDS. Its incidence is growing among people living with HIV/AIDS who interrupt their antiretroviral treatment. We report two cases that occurred in this situation and had lethal outcomes in the short term. Testing for cryptococcal antigen in serum (serum CRAG test) enables a reliable and early diagnosis, and its use should be promoted in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa.

BACKGROUND: Echocardiography is a reliable means for the diagnosis of functional and valvular diseases of the heart in HIV positive and HIV negative patients. The current study was to evaluate echocardiographic abnormalities in HIV positive patients under an antiretroviral therapy (ART) program in Tehran, Imam Khomeini Hospital, Iran. METHODS: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study, conducted among 231 HIV positive patients under ART. All HIV positive patients including 150 men (65%) and 81 women (35%) (mean age of 41 years) were assessed by trans-thoracic echocardiography (TTE) in Imam Khomeini Hospital, over the period from 2013 to 2014...

BACKGROUND: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) associated tuberculosis (TB) remains a major global public health challenge, with an estimated 1.4 million patients worldwide. Co-infection with HIV leads to challenges in the diagnosis and treatment of patients. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to assess treatment outcomes of a cohort of smear positive TB-HIV co-infected patients over a five-year study period. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of 600 smear-positive tuberculosis patients registered at the chest unit of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu from January 2008 to December 2012 was done...

BACKGROUND: We examined discharges for infective endocarditis (IE) at an academic teaching hospital for over 10 years to evaluate if an increase in hospitalizations for IE and increase in hepatitis C virus (HCV) in patients with IE could predict a new epidemic of injection drug use (IDU). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective medical record review of discharged patients with the diagnosis of IE as defined by the modified Duke criteria. Student's t test, chi-squared test and Fisher's exact test were used to calculate P values...

Background: International non-occupational post-exposure prophylaxis (NPEP) guidelines recommend routine use of three drug NPEP regimens, despite absence of evidence for greater prevention efficacy compared with two drug regimens. This study examines the potential for excess HIV seroconversions among high-risk men who have sex with men (MSM) reporting receptive anal intercourse with a source of unknown HIV serostatus (RAIU) following a two-drug versus a three-drug NPEP regimen. Methods: Data for MSM in the Victorian NPEP service database between 10 August 2005 and 31 December 2012 were linked with all Victorian HIV notifications up to 31 December 2013...

Symptoms of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), whether they are presented for treatment or diagnosis, and how they are received by the clinician where they are presented, may be concomitants of stigma associated with homosexuality in homophobic climates. We analyzed respondent-driven sampling data from a study on 200 young men who have sex with men (MSM) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to examine sample prevalence, treatment and clinician response to 10 symptoms potentially associated with STIs. Survey measures included 10 self-reported STI symptoms, further specified according to location (genital, anal, oral), further specified according to place of diagnosis, place of, treatment whether there was pharmacy treatment or self-medication, healthcare worker (HCW) inquiries about source of infection and whether the HCW was polite...

BACKGROUND: Stroke is a major cause of death worldwide and 85.5% of stroke deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries due to stroke. The aim of this study was to investigate correlates and predictors of 30-day mortality in stroke patients in urban Tanzania. METHODS: A prospective 30-day follow-up study was conducted at the Muhimbili National Hospital, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. We recruited all patients with stroke seen at the Emergency Medicine Department and medical wards...

We report the case of a patient with multiple empyema present throughout his body, including chronic sinusitis and chronic suppurative otitis media, as well as subsequent epidural empyema, all caused by Streptococcus intermedius. A 38-year-old man presented with chief complaints of headache, left ear discharge, and nasal congestion. Imaging studies revealed pansinusitis, soft tissue signs in the mastoid cells, and otitis media. The patient was treated with meropenem hydrate, 6g/day. While clinical findings indicated improvement of the sinusitis, his headache did not improve...

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to elucidate the process through which people living with HIV (PLWH) in the United Kingdom disclose their status to an intimate partner (IP). DESIGN: A qualitative cross-sectional survey design was used. METHOD: A total of 95 PLWH took part. They were presented with a series of open-ended questions enquiring into their last experience of disclosing to an IP. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Disclosure became a salient issue when the discloser acknowledged their relationship as meaningful...

OBJECTIVES: Among Russians living with HIV/AIDS who inject drugs, we examined the incidence of fatal and non-fatal overdoses following discharge from a narcology hospital and the associations with more advanced HIV infection. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study of data collected at baseline, 3 and 6 months from HIV-infected patients with a history of injection drug use who were not treated with anti-retroviral therapy. Participants were recruited between 2012-2014 from a narcology (addiction) hospital in St...

South Africa has one of the highest burdens of TB worldwide, driven by the country's widespread prevalence of HIV, and further complicated by drug resistance. Active case finding within the community, particularly in rural areas where healthcare access is limited, can significantly improve diagnosis and treatment coverage in high-incidence settings. We evaluated the potential health and economic consequences of implementing community-based TB/HIV screening and linkage to care. Using a dynamic model of TB and HIV transmission over a time horizon of 10 years, we compared status quo TB/HIV control to community-based TB/HIV screening at frequencies of once every two years, one year, and six months...

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends viral load testing as the preferred method for monitoring the clinical response of patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection to antiretroviral therapy (ART) (1). Viral load monitoring of patients on ART helps ensure early diagnosis and confirmation of ART failure and enables clinicians to take an appropriate course of action for patient management. When viral suppression is achieved and maintained, HIV transmission is substantially decreased, as is HIV-associated morbidity and mortality (2)...